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Compromise Is Sought to Honduras Standoff

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — As the public standoff between Honduras and the rest of the world hardened, quiet negotiations got under way on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for a possible return of the nation’s ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.

After a marathon session that stretched close to dawn, the Organization of American States “vehemently” condemned the removal of Mr. Zelaya over the weekend and issued an ultimatum to Honduras’s new government: Unless Mr. Zelaya is returned to power within 72 hours, the nation will be suspended from the group.

Diplomats said they had rarely seen the hemisphere’s leaders unite so solidly behind a common cause.

The new Honduran government was equally resolute, warning that there was no chance Mr. Zelaya would be restored to office and that the nation would defend itself by force.

But on Wednesday, as the two sides seemed to dig in their heels, O.A.S. officials said they had begun informal discussions with “political actors” close to the new government to find common ground for a peaceful resolution. Beyond that, the organization’s secretary general, José Miguel Insulza, was headed to the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on Thursday for further talks, an official with the organization said.

The proposals that have been floated include an offer of amnesty for those responsible for Mr. Zelaya’s ouster in return for his reinstatement and a guarantee that he will not seek another term. Fears that Mr. Zelaya had been plotting to undermine the Constitution and extend his tenure were among the driving forces behind his expulsion from the country at the hands of the military over the weekend.

Some members of the Honduran Congress, which voted in a new president on Sunday, said Wednesday that they were also discussing ways of reaching a compromise among themselves that would reinstate Mr. Zelaya, a central demand of the United NationsGeneral Assembly. The lawmakers cautioned, however, that such a deal could be a hard sell, given the widespread opposition to Mr. Zelaya in Congress.

Despite their extensive ties to the Honduran military and government, American officials said they were giving Honduras a cold shoulder to increase pressure on the new government to cede power. American officials said that they had not had any official or unofficial contact with the interim government, and that they supported the O.A.S. in taking the lead in negotiating a resolution to the crisis.

The Pentagon announced that it had stopped all joint operations with its counterparts in Honduras. Obama administration officials held out the possibility of cutting off millions of dollars in aid to Honduras if the O.A.S. diplomatic efforts failed. Senior administration officials said their goal was to give Honduras a taste of isolation, and to show that they stood solidly with the rest of the region.

The sharply divided political climate in Honduras may make any quick resolution difficult. But a senior Obama administration official predicted that Honduras’s interim government would not be able to withstand the mounting international pressure very long.

“In the 21st century, these kinds of coups don’t last long,” the official said. “It’s very hard for a country like Honduras to maintain this kind of position in the face of overwhelming rejection by the world, and especially by the region and its major trading partners.”

Photo

Supporters of the deposed president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, used an umbrella to collect money for their cause in the capital, Tegucigalpa.Credit
Esteban Felix/Associated Press

Even so, a resolution appeared to be a long way off in Honduras on Wednesday. Demonstrations for and against the new government continued in Tegucigalpa and other cities across the country. Then, in a move to crack down on the opposition, the nation’s Congress approved a decree on Wednesday that applies during the overnight curfew and allows security forces to arrest people at home and hold them for more than 24 hours.

“It’s for the tranquillity of the country,” said the new president, Roberto Micheletti.

The government has accused pro-Zelaya demonstrators of vandalism and violence, noting that a grenade, which did not explode, was hurled at the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Those who oppose the government, meanwhile, accuse the security forces of stifling dissent through brutality.

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Mr. Micheletti suggested Wednesday that he was open to negotiations, but gave up no ground.

“We are open to dialogue,” he told a group of international journalists, adding in the next breath that the courts would insist on Mr. Zelaya’s arrest if he returned. Mr. Zelaya had initially vowed to go back to Honduras on Thursday, but he agreed to postpone his return at least 72 hours after the O.A.S. set a deadline for his reinstatement.

Pressure has already been put on the new Honduran government to reach a compromise. The World Bank has said it will suspend $270 million it approved for Honduras, one of the poorer countries in the region, and hold off pursuing any new projects there until the crisis is resolved. The Inter-American Development Bank has also paused its programs in Honduras.

But Mr. Micheletti said he did not feel isolated by the scorn that had been heaped upon him by so many governments in the world. “I’m not going to permit that this is called a coup d’état,” he said.

Most governments disagree. Calling Mr. Zelaya’s overthrow an “old-fashioned coup,” Mr. Insulza of the O.A.S. said: “We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted. We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere.”

In a sharply worded resolution, the organization called the ouster an “unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order.”

The expressions of unity outside the meeting rooms, however, masked disagreements playing out behind closed doors. There was discord over Mr. Zelaya’s initial plan to go back to Honduras on Thursday, which raised concerns that it would only aggravate the situation.

There was also discussion over how to proceed with suspension if diplomatic efforts failed, with some countries wanting an immediate suspension and others wanting to convene another meeting first. And there were calls by Venezuela and Nicaragua for the United States to impose tough economic sanctions.

The United States, which provides millions of dollars in aid to Honduras, is the only country in the region that has not withdrawn its ambassador from Honduras. France, Spain and Italy have recalled their ambassadors.

“There is a lot of concern about hurting the people of Honduras any more than they have already been hurt,” said a senior administration official, referring to American reluctance to impose sanctions. “There’s enough trouble and poverty in Honduras already.”